A week later I finally get a long chapter up! Sorry for the wait, but I hope this next chapter is well worth it!

It was a strangely fortunate day in the graveyard for Maumbu and Hasina, for after just going on a walk together, they had managed to find an old rotting carcass, lean with meat but hardly touched at all. Immediately the two had rushed over to it and quickly began devouring the food, Maumbu letting her have the bigger portions.

After about five minutes of eating, Maumbu looked up from his meal and took a good look at Hasina's face. He smiled; despite claiming to have a difficult life, he knew she was one of the good things in it. What made it even better, was the both of them were now 16: fully grown up and able to marry. That is, if their parents would allow it.

Not many animals married as soon as they turned 16 (except for royal lions who were betrothed and had no choice), due to the fact that even though they were considered legally adults they either still wanted to live out their lives or their parents found them too immature to be wed, no matter how much the couple insisted they were in love.

Maumbu had talked to Hasina about it and she seemed a bit unsure. She loved her boyfriend but considered marriage a big step and wondered if they were ready, Maumbu certainly thought so. And at that thought, an idea came to his mind; letting an impish smirk come across his face, he made sure she wasn't looking, before closing his eyes and leaning in towards her. Her eyes just happened to shift upward at the last second, and then widened in surprise. But before Maumbu could kiss her, she looked to her side and an impish smirk of her own grew on her face.

Maumbu could feel the body heat from her muzzle already wavering on his. Much to his surprise though, he felt her lips on his nose. He peeled his eyes open and his jaw dropped at what he saw.

Hasina was holding Ed in her teeth and he was giving his older brother a sweet little peck on the nose. Maumbu quickly jerked away and snorted in disgust. His little brother just laughed in a happy tone as Hasina gently set him on the ground and laughed as well.

"Looks like he missed you Maumbu." She joked. Maumbu looked at his younger brother, who laughed in a sweet tone up at him; he growled in response. Ed raised an eyebrow in confusion, before getting a horror-struck expression on his face as Maumbu began to stalk in his direction.

"You, little…"

On instinct, Ed whirled around and ran for his life. Maumbu snapped at his brother's ankles as he chased after him. Ed kept running until the pads on his paws began to hurt, but he knew he couldn't stop. The five year-old pup began panting for breath as he desperately searched for a place to hide long enough for his lungs to stop aching. Fortunately, up ahead, there was a gap between a small group of boulders, too small for his brother to fit through. Ed took the chance and lunged into the opening. Maumbu skidded to a halt and put his nose to the hole.

"You gotta come outta there sometime!" He yelled.

"Oh Maumbu it was just a joke, even more so it was my idea; leave 'im alone." Hasina told her boyfriend. Maumbu began to claw at the opening in an attempt to get to his younger brother…until, he heard a crunching noise to his left, as if someone was stepping on a few tiny rocks. He jerked his head in that direction and saw Ed, on a ledge only inches above his head, frozen in terror after being caught trying to sneak past him. He immediately fled as Maumbu jumped up at the ledge, his forepaws gripping hold of it, and snapped his teeth at him once more. Luckily, Ed got out of the way in time.

Ed ran past Hasina and Maumbu followed after him, Hasina just rolled her eyes; if this was how mature Maumbu was, then maybe the two really weren't ready for marriage. Meanwhile, Maumbu was starting to gain on his little brother, now only inches away; soon Ed would learn not to pull tricks on him. Ed glanced behind himself and his eyes widened at how close his brother was, motivating him to run faster. But judging by how close he was, his older brother wouldn't have to keep running for long…

But unfortunately, Maumbu wasn't watching where he was going, and before he knew anything else, he felt a huge pang of pain run through his head, before he collapsed on the ground.

"Maumbu!" Hasina yelled as she sprinted in his direction. Ed, who had stopped running after he the large footsteps halted, looked back to see what happened and having seen what happened to his older brother, ran back to him. Hasina stood over her boyfriend, now out of consciousness due to hitting his head on a solid rock just out of his sites.

"Maumbu? Maumbu?!" She yelled over and over again. Ed tried to revive his brother by shaking him awake by pushing on his face with his forepaws, but it didn't work. The five year-old pup began whimpering, now more scared for Maumbu than of when he was being chased by him. Hasina saw the frightened expression on the young male's face, and walked over to him and held him to her leg.

"It's alright. It's alright." She said, although truthfully she was a bit frightened that her boyfriend might not wake up. Ed was very close to crying, but before long, both hyenas heard groaning. Looking down, they saw Maumbu slowly regaining consciousness. He gingerly raised his head up and looked around himself.

"What the? What happened?" He said. Immediately Hasina and Ed rushed over to him and embraced him tightly. Ed laughed in a happy tone, now seeing that his brother was ok.

"Oh you had me worried back there; don't ever do that again!!" Hasina scolded, before kissing him and nuzzling him repeatedly. She started to rub her head on his, but much to her puzzlement, he cringed back as he hissed in pain. Hasina looked up at him, before her eyes grew wide in shock. Maumbu noticed the look.

"What?" He said.

"Your-your face, you…" She trailed off.

Maumbu had a massive, purple bruise precisely over his right eye. The eyeball was clearly bloodshot and hazy, and some of the fur nearby had been trimmed down by the ordeal. It was a gruesome site to behold and the injury itself must've been horribly painful to obtain. Ed merely titled his head at it; why didn't his eye magically turn purple after he fell asleep?

"Huh?" Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow at her, feeling no pain due to it was the eyebrow above the undamaged eye. Hasina sighed.

"Come over here." She told him as she nudged his shoulder with her own as she led him to a shallow puddle of water. Maumbu was confused at his girlfriend's strange behavior…before he looked into the puddle and saw the same thing she had been gaping at this whole time. His jaw dropped.

"What. Did. You. Do?" He growled as he slowly looked at Ed. This time, Hasina blocked his way.

"Nothing: you crashed into a rock, of your own undoing." She told him. Maumbu's eyes widened in surprise at this fact.

"Don't tell me I get that determined." He said.

"I wouldn't say, determined; I'd say…distracted." Hasina replied.

"Now, weren't we supposed to meet our two other friends near the ribcage today?" She added, brushing against her boyfriend for effect. Ed gagged as he looked away; looking at any lovey-dovey stuff was completely gross to watch for him.

Maumbu looked like he was about to growl, but just couldn't with Hasina this happy, so sparing only a glare, which he stared right at Ed with, he turned around in that direction. Before leaving along with him, Hasina looked back at Ed and smiled in a sweet way.

"Don't worry. He'll come around." She said. Ed smiled back, then watched as the couple left the area.

A few minutes later…

Two male hyenas, one with a nick on the top of his right ear, were sniffing at a hole they saw a rat crawl into. They were indomitable to catch the thieving rodent because not only were rats competition for food, but were food themselves.

One of the males, the one without the notch on his ear, looked back when he heard faint footsteps coming in their direction. He then saw Maumbu and Hasina approaching, also noticing the black eye clearly visible on Maumbu's face.

"Whoa, check out Maumbu's eye job." He said as he nudged his friend with his elbow. The second male looked back, and his eyes widened at the sight.

"Wow. …Wheredya think he got it?" He asked his friend.

"…Maybe his dad gave it to 'im; he's always been a little more…firm, with 'im lately."

"Nah, I don't think so. Rashid's a little strict, but he ain't that strict." The notch-eared hyena replied.

"So then how do you think he got it?" His friend demanded.

"…I dunno." He admitted. But the two immediately stopped talking when their two friends reached them.

"Hey guys." The couple greeted.

"Hey." They said back, in uneasy tones. There was an awkward silence, before Maumbu sighed.

"Go ahead; get it out of your system." He said, knowing why they were staring. Instantly the two burst out into questions; asking where and how he got it, if he was in a fight, if his life was in danger. It never ended. Maumbu rolled his eyes. Hasina, deciding to end the inquiring, interrupted them.

"Look, why don't you two just get to the point so we can go have some fun?" She suggested.

"Actually me n' him have a date with a rat but there is one thing we'd like to know." The male without a notch in his ear replied, before looking at Maumbu.

"Now be honest man, who hit ya? Your mom? Your dad?"

"What? No! It's not like that! My little brother-"

"Your little brother?!" Both his friends cut him off in disbelief.

"Dude, you seriously need to toughen up if you got beat up by your little brother." His friend with the nicked-ear stated.

"I didn't get beat up by my little brother! It was…an accident." Maumbu replied.

"Right." His other friend said in a sarcastic tone. The notch-eared male was snickering.

"Well, let us know if Ed gives ya any more trouble." His friend said, before both of them walked off laughing. Maumbu growled in annoyance.

"Maumbu, look who's back." He heard Hasina say. He looked to see her smiling at Ed, who was waddling over in their direction. He smiled at his big brother after he reached them.

"An' whadda you want baby-drools-a-lot?" Maumbu snorted.

"Maybe, he just came back to apologize. You should tell him it wasn't his fault."

"It was his fault! It's all his fault!" Maumbu suddenly snapped.

"It was only a black eye."

"It's not just the black eye! It's the everything; why mom and dad are so busy nowadays, why I have to cancel on every day out I have, including our dates!"

"But I understand about all that." She said.

"Lemme finish." Maumbu then looked down at his brother.

"Listen half-pint; my life's been nothin' but trouble since the day you came along. And unless you aren't looking forward to adulthood, I suggest you stay outta my way from now on. Got it?"

Ed's ears dropped back; what could he have done to make Maumbu so angry? Maumbu snorted and walked back to Hasina's side.

"C'mon Hasina; we're leaving."

Hasina on the other hand, was not so willing.

"Actually Maumbu, I have to get back home early today. But I think I can manage to walk Ed home before I go." She told him, before walking over to the sulking pup.

"Ya wanna go home sweetie?" She asked. Ed shook his head and just got to his paws before walking away. Maybe Shenzi and Banzai could enlighten him on all the annoying things he did…

Meanwhile…

Zazu sighed as he moped on top of a branch of a close-to-the-ground tree, staring at the earth instead of gazing at the sky.

"What's the matter, friend?" Came a voice from behind him. Zazu turned his head around to see Mufasa looking at him…eye-to-eye level. The young hornbill merely sighed again as he looked away.

"Oh nothing." He replied.

"It doesn't look like nothing." Mufasa said. Zazu lowered his head away from him.

"Just leave me be. A gifted prince such as yourself shouldn't even be seen with a poorly skilled hatchling such as me."

"Zazu, you could fly if you really wanted to." His friend said as he put a paw on his shoulder.

"I do really want to!" Zazu exclaimed as he spun around to look at him for a moment.

"…I just don't have the ability." He finished as he turned away. Mufasa was in thought for a moment.

"Maybe I can help."

"You? How so?"

A few minutes later…

"Now then, if I've been watching your family right, the first thing you should do when taking off for flight is to find a place very high; where the wind current can catch you." The lion prince instructed.

"If it doesn't catch me then I certainly hope you will." Zazu replied. Mufasa smiled.

"I'll be with you every step of the way." He assured his friend.

"Now let's get started!" He stated in a confident tone, hoping this would encourage his friend. Unfortunately, Zazu could only grimace at the sight of the large cliff that was behind him.

"Oh dear…"

Zazu had soon worked his way up the cliff, and was now leering over the edge. He could see Mufasa, the size of a beetle, looking up at him.

"Try and take off!" The prince yelled in his direction.

"Um, perhaps we could try a different alternative?!" Zazu suggested.

"Zazu you'll never learn until you try, now flap!"

The hornbill gulped, but took a deep breath, and slowly but shakily, walked further to the edge. Taking another deep breath, but choosing to hold in it just in case it might assist him, he leapt off the edge. Mufasa watched as he gracefully spread his wings, flapped out his tail, and tucked in his feet; just as a bird was supposed to take off. He smiled at that. But then, Zazu did something Mufasa knew a bird shouldn't ever do in mid-air.

"Zazu, no! Open your eyes!" He shouted. But the young hornbill had chose to keep his eyes shut, too afraid to look at the consequences…before landing smack on the ground. Mufasa sighed and walked over to his friend.

"Are you alright?" He asked as Zazu peeled himself from the dirt.

"Ugh, I think I broke my bill." He replied in a stuffy-nose voice.

Fortunately, Mufasa was the type of lion who refused to give up if there was still a chance. And he knew there was definitely still one with Zazu. But the two had practiced all afternoon and soon the blue hornbill was becoming exhausted. As he collapsed on the ground yet again, he groaned in defeat.

"Let's face it dear companion; I'm an absolute wash out. You may as well eat me up or feed me to the hyenas to spare myself the humiliation, of being a flightless bird.

"…Maybe, I'm just using the wrong kind of motivation." Mufasa conjectured after a thought.

"What do you mean?" Zazu asked as he looked up at his friend.

Mufasa quickly snapped his jaws in the blue hornbill's direction. Zazu screamed as he jumped about five feet in the air and tried to make a run for it…strangely though, he did not feel the earth beneath his feet. Peeling his eyes open, he looked down and could not believe what he saw.

"I…I did it… I'm flying! I'm flying!!" Zazu exclaimed as he swept through the breeze. Down below, he could see Mufasa running to keep up with him.

"I knew could do it!" The young prince said. Zazu was so happy he rolled a few times in the air.

"I CAN FLY!!"

Ed sniffed, alone somewhere in a wide but isolated clearing in the graveyard; he forgot Shenzi had matriarch training again and Banzai always went to hunt at this time and he didn't like to be bothered. He wiped his nose with his paw, and sniffed again, then let out a shaky sigh.

"What's wrong?" Came a voice from behind him. Ed quickly looked back to see who had said that, and saw Abeni looking at him worriedly.

"You look like you ate some bad carcass meat." She said. Ed sniffed again and explained to her about his brother hating him. Abeni's eyes softened; even though she could not understand a word, she did know he was very unhappy.

"Don't cry." She asked him, although her head titled down to look at her feet and her bangs fell in front of her eyes for she was still to embarrassed to look at her crush.

"I don't like it when you're sad." Ed continued to weep however, and Abeni could only watch, miserably, as he wallowed in his own melancholy. She tried thinking of a few ways to make him happy again, to make him smile that wonderful smile that made him the apple of her eye in the first place. …And suddenly, it hit her. Shyly but carefully she walked in his direction. She timidly tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to look back at her with tear-filled eyes. She smiled.

"Know what my mom does when I'm sad?" She asked as she walked in front of him. Ed shook his head. Abeni smiled again and licked his cheek, then quickly jerked back from embarrassment, and waited for his reaction.

At first, Ed only stared at her; no females other than his mother had ever done that before. And all of a sudden she was making him feel…different. Usually, he found romantics boring, but he didn't dislike her gesture of affection at all. He wondered if this was how Banzai felt when he was with Shenzi.

Soon, he found himself leaning forward, before giving her a peck on the nose, only not at all like the prank on his brother. Instantly Abeni reddened in the face, but she wanted to do that for so long. Ed smiled at her, she smiled back. And before long, both pups were heading to a different section of the graveyard together, side-by-side.

A few feet away…

Banzai, who had long given up hunting and gone to look for his friends but had only found Shenzi, watched as the happy duo made their way further into the graveyard. Shenzi, who had finished matriarch training for the day and went to look for her friends as well, but only came upon Banzai, was watching alongside him.

"What's Ed doin' with Abeni?" He asked.

"I dunno." She replied.

Meanwhile…

Taka's luck must've been with him that day, for he found not one sight of Mufasa on Priderock so far. This was good because he wanted to speak with his father alone…if his father was in the mood for speaking. He found him perched at the edge of Priderock, proudly gazing at something on the plains. Taking a deep breath, Taka approached Ahadi.

"Um, hello father."

At Taka's voice, Ahadi seemed irritated, but acknowledged his presence nonetheless.

"Yes?" He said.

"Erm, I've been meaning to talk to y-" Before he could say more he saw Ahadi look back to the plains while he was in mid-sentence.

"What are you looking at?" He said as he came beside him. Ahadi beamed.

"Look at your brother; he is completely incapable of flight, but yet he tries to teach a struggling future majordomo, and succeeds!" Taka stared out to the plains, and sure enough, Mufasa was running underneath an airborne Zazu.

He let a small sigh escape his nostrils; even though most of the time Taka was glad he had a brother as remarkable as Mufasa, there were other times where he envied his cherished and adored brother. And teaching a hornbill to fly when you had never or would never be able to fly in your life was undoubtedly no exception. But quickly putting this thought aside and remembering why he was here in the first place, he looked up to Ahadi.

"Father?" He asked.

"What is it?" The king replied impatiently.

"I mean to have a serious talk with you." Taka explained. Ahadi sighed.

"Go ahead." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Well erm, it's about the hyenas. They-"

"Hyenas?! Why on earth would you want to talk about hyenas?!" Ahadi demanded as he cut his son off.

"It's just…are they really as evil as everyone claims them to be?"

"Of course they are! They're heartless, lazy, incapable imbeciles! Why would you even doubt that?!"

"I just, don't see how they could be so cruel." Taka admitted.

"Then you must be more blind than I thought, for the adults of the Elephant Graveyard are always sneaking into our lands; stealing food and terrorizing the herds! And if we try to enforce the law and stop them, they attack us with vicious, deadly jaws that could crush a zebra's back in one bite! They are a pest if not a threat!" Ahadi finished.

"Well, what about the pups?" Taka asked his father. Ahadi only laughed in a mocking tone.

"They are among the worst to worry about! Do not be fooled by their childhood innocence, my son. They live with unclean monsters and will grow up to be monsters themselves."

"But, perhaps if, lions could learn to get along with hyenas-"

"Again, you speak of nonsense! There is no possible solution to the conflict between lion and hyena. And there never will be! The best we can do is completely isolate our kind from their impure scum. Heed my word: an evil presence thrives around them all."

Taka sighed deeply, before getting to his paws.

"Yes father." But before leaving, a thought suddenly occurred to him. He whirled around and just as Ahadi was finding interest in Mufasa again, Taka spoke up.

"Father?"

"What?!" Ahadi growled.

"The time when, you'll choose either me or Mufasa to be king…" He trailed off.

"Oh yes, that. Well I can assure you it will go as scheduled…as well as planned." He replied, appearing vaguely suspicious.

"What does that mean?" Taka asked.

"Oh nothing. Now get out of my sight before I grow more impatient with you." He finished, bearing his teeth. Taka backed down.

"Y-yes father." And without another word the lion prince fled from the spot.

That evening, Taka arrived at the Elephant Graveyard, a large antelope's haunch wedged between his jaws.

"There he is!" Came a certain female's voice. Taka looked up to see Shenzi and Banzai running in his direction. When they reached him he asked them a question, but the antelope haunch muffled his voice.

"What?" The two asked. Taka dropped the haunch to the ground.

"I said 'where is Ed?'."

"Oh." The two echoed.

"He's busy." Shenzi explained as Banzai started to dig into the meal.

"With what?"

"Ah-bn-ee." The male pup said with a mouthful.

"What?"

"Abeni." Shenzi translated.

"Who's Abeni?"

"Some chick in Gituku's gang." Banzai answered after he swallowed.

"Who's Gituku?"

"Never mind." Shenzi waved her paw in dismiss.

"Well he's been out with 'er all day!" Banzai complained.

"Oh, so he's got a girlfriend does he?" Taka smiled. Both pups made gagging sounds.

"C'mon man, that's gross!" Banzai said.

"Yeah! Just 'cause females hang out with males it don't make 'em a couple!" Shenzi added. Taka let a light smile come upon his face as he sighed inwardly.

"Still so young. But they'll feel different about the opposite gender one day. Very, very soon…" He thought.

"Well, just make sure he gets this." The lion prince said, motioning toward the antelope.

"We will." The two echoed once more.

"I must be going now." Taka stated as he turned to leave, until Shenzi darted in his path.

"Already?" She asked.

"Yes. My family likes me home before dark."

"Y'know, you been spendin' a lot less time with us lately." Banzai stated in a slightly annoyed tone.

"I know. And I must apologize; I've been so busy lately. But I will make it up to you." The prince replied.

"Promise?" Both pups warned.

"Promise."

Meanwhile…

Mufasa walked back up to Priderock, Zazu flying at a low level by his side. The prince expected the hornbill to be out of energy after all the soaring he did that afternoon (he certainly seemed tuckered out back when he couldn't fly) but Zazu was still bursting with vigor. When the two reached the top they could see Ahadi, smiling proudly at Mufasa. The two exchanged glances, before Mufasa finally spoke up.

"Uh, yes dad?"

"Oh my son! The wonders you have done for this place! I couldn't be more proud!" Ahadi exclaimed.

"Heh, thanks."

"And Zazu, you have certainly impressed your king with your abilities, perhaps we could use your help around here."

"Really?!" Zazu was ecstatic as he flapped his wings eagerly.

"Where's Taka?" Mufasa suddenly cut in.

"Oh. I'm currently unaware of his location. We had a talk on why hyenas were horrible, which I still think is meaningless for I've explained to everyone the reason countless times, and then he left for an unknown destination." Ahadi replied.

"All I know is that he had better get here before your mother starts to worry." He finished with a growl. Upon hearing about hyenas, Zazu remembered his unfortunate encounter with the young pup trio and snorted.

"You want to know what I think of those miscreants?" He said.

"What?" Both Mufasa and Ahadi asked.

"I think they're slobbering, mangy, stupid, poachers." He stated. The two lions couldn't help but laugh.

"Perhaps the best words I've heard to describe them yet!" Ahadi grinned.

"The best words to describe who yet?" Came a voice a few feet away. The three looked to see Taka approaching from the bottom of Priderock.

"Oh, nobody." Mufasa said before Zazu could repeat himself. Ahadi yawned.

"Well, the day falters; I shall see you all tomorrow." The king said.

"Pleasant dreams your highness." Zazu said with a bow.

"Night dad." Both brothers said in unison. A few seconds later, Ahadi had disappeared into the royal den. Mufasa turned to his friend.

"Zazu, why don't you catch up on some sleep as well? You've been hard at work all day." Zazu's eyes drooped and with a light smile he lazily glided up into a tree near the lion den. Mufasa made sure he made it there safely, before realizing Taka was no longer beside him. He looked around for his brother, until he saw him staring at something from the tip of Priderock. It was then Mufasa noticed exactly what particular place his brother's gaze was fixed upon and sat next to him.

"They really mean something to you, don't they Taka?" Mufasa asked.

"As much as you, Zira, Sarabi and Sarafina." Taka replied.

"…It makes no sense though." He said after a pause. Mufasa looked at him.

"What doesn't?" He asked.

"That we are permitted to kill their kind if they trespass on our territory, but they can do nothing if we execute the same." Taka replied. When Ahadi made sure no hyenas had any authority, he made sure they had no authority whatsoever. They couldn't even defend their own territory from the lions, let alone their own homes, or their pups…

"…You know, you make an excellent point Taka." Mufasa said after a pause.

"I do?"

"Yeah." The older of the princes then left to go to the royal den.

"See you tomorrow brother." He said, before leaving Taka to stare at the declining sun.

Another chapter here on the weekend! Glad to see more stories being added on here too!

Y'know, looking at Mufasa's relationship with Zazu, I think I see where Simba gets it from: Mufasa didn't eat Zazu, so Simba didn't eat Timon and Pumbaa. It's all so obvious now! Both lion kings see animals as fellow living creatures first, food second. Great rulers or what?!